The company posted impairments of $5.7bn to reflect the impact of weaker prices on the value of its assets.

Shares opened more than 6% higher in London before losing ground to be down about 1% at 389.6p in afternoon trading. The stock has fluctuated wildly in recent weeks and has fallen more than two thirds over the past 12 months.

The results were better than expected but many analysts nevertheless said the underlying performance was not impressive.

Anglo is also suspending its dividend to conserve cash.

It has joined other mining groups including Rio Tinto, Glencore and Brazil’s Vale in cutting dividend payouts to shareholders.

On Monday, Moody’s cut Anglo’s credit rating to junk status, marking a new low for the big global mining companies that are all grappling with plunging commodity prices.